Joe Denly’s unbeaten hundred – his first for Middlesex – helped them to three batting points for the first time this season

Alan Gardner at Lord's05-May-2012
Scorecard
Joe Denly, in action here for Kent, made his first century for his new county Middlesex•Getty Images

If Middlesex and Worcestershire find themselves shoulder to shoulder near the bottom of the table in a few months’ time, battling each other to avoid relegation, then Joe Denly’s unbeaten hundred – his first for his new county – could turn out to be the cigarette paper inserted between the two sides. Denly batted with composure and application to add exactly 100 to his overnight score as Middlesex amassed their highest total of the season so far and denied Worcestershire a third bowling bonus point while they were at it.Middlesex claimed two wickets in the gloaming after Chris Rogers’ declaration shortly into the evening session but it was the performance of Denly, recruited from Kent over the winter, that stood out. With a draw the likeliest outcome, his performance, as a barometer of how well Middlesex may fare in Division One, was as valuable as the three batting points it helped to secure.Denly was once groomed as an England opener but lost his way after making a handful of one-day appearances in 2009. Seeking a fresh start, he swapped the tranquillity of Canterbury for the mildly grittier urban milieu of St Johns Wood and this innings suggested he may come again at international level, with England not exactly overrun with options as the top of the order. Having the captain, Andrew Strauss, as a team-mate won’t do his chances any harm, either.”It was nice to spend some time out in the middle and get that first hundred under the belt, my first hundred at Lord’s as well, so I’m delighted,” Denly said. “It’s been a while [since being involved with England]. If I’m scoring runs consistently then hopefully they might take a bit of notice but it’s only one knock so far, I’ve just got to focus on doing it week in week out and scoring big hundreds.”As it is, Middlesex are comfortably ensconced in the middle of the standings, while Worcestershire bob alongside Durham and Lancashire, the champions, near the bottom. The latter two were being talked of in title-challenging terms at the start of the season and both will expect their fortunes to improve but Worcestershire, having lost their opening six games last year, are familiar with the art of escapology.That Middlesex didn’t assert even greater supremacy in this match was largely down to Alan Richardson, once of NW8 himself, who claimed his third five-wicket haul of the season to take his overall tally to 24. The game may not have been the biggest show in town, with the FA Cup final taking place at Wembley just a few miles across north London, but then Richardson has never needed the incentive of the spotlight in order to perform. He was also unsentimental about his wicket-taking return.”I’ve got quite a few old clubs,” he said, with wry a smile. “It’s a fantastic place to come back to, the home of cricket, I had five great years here – whether everyone else thought they were great I don’t know but I certainly enjoyed them. To get five wickets is always nice, whatever ground it is.”I think the wicket has got a little bit in it, if anything we bowled pretty poorly yesterday. We’ve given ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb, I don’t think it’s a 327 for seven wicket. So we’ve put ourselves under a bit of pressure.”Despite more capricious weather in the morning, Denly remained unflappable at the crease. He got forward well and was particularly strong driving down the ground though, like all the batsmen, he had one or two uncomfortable moments against Richardson. After a generally sedate knock, punctuated by occasional boundaries, he moved from 86 to 101 from six balls, timing Richard Jones off his pads before dispatching another on drive down the ground to bring the members to their feet.That milestone seemed a long way off after Richardson had taken two in two balls to leave Middlesex on 172 for 5 but Denly combined with first John Simpson and then Gareth Berg to regain the initiative. Berg scratched around like a cooped up tom cat at the start of his innings, was dropped in the gully and rarely looked secure but grubbed his way to 36 out of a partnership of 88 with Denly, as Middlesex took the opportunity either side of a prolonged break for rain to restore some faith in their batting order.Denly pulled Richardson into the stands to bring up the 300 and the declaration came shortly after, as Middlesex seemingly dithered over whether to pursue a fourth batting point or not. Strauss then dropped Michael Klinger on nought, repaying the favour from yesterday. But as the clouds drew in, Worcestershire’s Australian opener was dismissed and Strauss’ could walk off in a sunnier frame of mind.

Northamptonshire celebrated their first win of this season’s Friends Life t20 after coasting to a nine-wicket victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff.

30-Jun-2012
ScorecardNorthamptonshire celebrated their first win of this season’s Friends Life t20 after coasting to a nine-wicket victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff. Northamptonshire, bottom of the Midlands, Wales and West Group, dominated with ball and bat against a disappointing Glamorgan side who now have it all to do to qualify for this year’s knockout stages.It was Northamptonshire’s slow bowlers who laid the foundations for victory with Con de Lange, 3 for 15, and James Middlebrook, 3 for 16, limiting their hosts 110 for 9 off their 20 overs. And that target was always going to be within the sights of the visitors with skipper Alex Wakely making batting look far easier as he hit a superbly crafted 54 not out to see his side home in just 13.1 overs.After being put into bat, Glamorgan struggled from the outset on a slowish Cardiff track. Marcus North was the first to perish, clean bowled for 1 giving himself room trying to drive David Willey.With only 17 runs coming off the first four overs, skipper Jim Allenby tried to break free of the shackles with successive boundaries off Willey, but the respite was shortlived. The captain was bowled by Lee Daggett for 20, then Australian opener Shaun Marsh holed out for 16, chipping left-arm spinner De Lange into the safe hands of Cameron White at long on.The home side were in desperate need of a partnership, but their big-name top order failed to deliver. Martin van Jaarsveld pulled a long hop from De Lange straight down the throat of Kyle Coetzer at deep mid-wicket, which prompted a middle-order collapse that saw the hosts lose three wickets for just one run.Mark Wallace was undone by a beauty from Middlebrook, Chris Cooke inexplicably danced down the track the next ball and was clean bowled, then James Harris also trudged back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers, trapped leg before by the impressive De Lange.That left Glamorgan tottering on 70 for 7 with still more than seven overs remaining and in danger of recording their lowest-ever score in the competition – 94 for 9 against Essex in 2010. That looked possible when Middlebrook claimed his third wicket by having Robert Croft stumped by David Murphy, but Stewart Walters – with an unbeaten 34 and Dean Cosker (13) put on 33 for the ninth wicket to take the home side past the 100-mark.Needing quick wickets, the home bowlers, like their batsmen, failed to fire. Harris went for 19 off his first over with the hard-hitting Willey finding the boundary at will. But he went for a 17-ball 24, going for one shot too many and being caught by Marsh off the bowling of Allenby, but Northamptonshire were by then well on their way.Wakely duly picked up the baton, playing a brilliant innings for his side. He took a particular liking to Croft, reverse sweeping the veteran off-spinner with consummate ease. His half century came up off just 37 balls and contained seven fours. Coetzer provided able support and the pair reached their target with 6.5 overs to spare with Coetzer finishing the match in style with a six over mid-wicket off Cosker.

AB de Villiers describes in Alison’s Tea Break how he came through what he calls his “breakdown” when he was on the cusp of losing his place in the South Africa side.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012In 2007, AB de Villiers was told by the then South Africa coach Mickey Arthur that he was in the last chance saloon. A poor run of form had left him with one last chance to save his place in the side and possibly his international career.In the latest edition of Alison’s Tea Break, de Villiers, now South Africa’s one-day captain, Test vice-captain, and one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world, talks in detail about his batting ethos and describes how he came through what he calls his “breakdown” in 2006/7 when he was on the cusp of losing his place in the side.He explains how he forced himself into a positive frame of mind – “brainwashing” himself, as he puts it – before hitting a century against the West Indies and following it up with an unbeaten double hundred against India in Ahmedabad.Five years later he is enjoying a leadership role within the South Africa team; a role which, he believes, is partly responsible for the way he has developed an astonishing repertoire of batting strokes.He talks Alison through his jaw-dropping assault on South Africa team mate Dale Steyn in the IPL earlier this year, and determines that while Test cricket is about playing the ball, T20 is about anticipating. The way de Villiers was able to read the game that night resulted in a blistering 47 off 17 balls, including 23 off one Steyn over, to turn the match for Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Find out in this interview how he feels about having been No. 1 in the Test batting rankings, to what extent he believes talent is innate, and just how he achieves the right frame of mind to take on the world’s best bowlers time and time again.

Having disappointed for most of the World Cup, India’s batting unit turned in a much-improved performance in the semi-final against New Zealand

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville23-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIndia gave an all-round performance to book a place in the final against Australia•ICC/Getty

Having disappointed for most of the World Cup, India’s batting unit turned in a much-improved performance in the semi-final against New Zealand, while their bowlers continued their impressive form to set up a summit clash against Australia on Sunday. The top order set up a solid base, and despite a middle-order slump, India were able to get past 200, a total that has been difficult to chase at Tony Ireland Stadium.New Zealand fought hard, though, consolidating after losing top-order wickets in a clutch, and steered themselves to a position from where they could launch an assault at the end, much like they did in the quarterfinal against West Indies. They were not allowed to. All the Indian bowlers held their own. With no weak link to exploit, New Zealand lost wickets in the search for momentum, and the gap between runs needed and balls remaining stayed wide enough to see India through. New Zealand needed 18 off the last over in this game as well; they got eight.Like they did in the quarterfinal, India lost the toss and this time were sent in to bat by Will Young. The conditions weren’t that bad – a flatter pitch and a sunnier morning – and after surviving a few jitters, Unmukt Chand and Prashant Chopra gave their team a start.Chand was nervy in the first over, inside-edging past his stumps and playing and missing while trying to cover drive. He settled down soon, though, and began middling his drives when playing much closer to his body. Chopra was more confident at the start, getting behind the line to block out the new ball. However, as he struggled to find gaps to score, Chopra began to try innovations such as the ramp shot over the wicketkeeper. He missed four times and connected once and was 2 off 24 balls at one stage. He was also struck painfully on the box by Ed Nuttall and writhed in pain for a few minutes before getting back up to carry India forward.The opening stand was worth 51, India’s second best in the World Cup, when Chand was bowled by a slower ball from Connor Neynens, who had been driven to the straight and cover boundaries in his previous over, the 12th. Chopra carried on, forging another half-century partnership with Baba Aparajith, hitting the legspinner Ish Sodhi for a huge six over long-off.Aparajith batted sensibly for the second consecutive innings, focusing on pushing the ball into gaps in the sizeable outfield and running hard. He maintained a healthy strike-rate despite hitting only two boundaries, while Chopra made up for his slow start with firm blows. They added 81 for the second wicket, the first time India have had consecutive half-century stands in five matches.On 52, Chopra lofted Nuttall to wide mid-on only to see Young fly through the air with one hand outstretched and catch the ball. India were 132 for 2 and they lost ground after that, with the left-arm spinner Ben Horne taking 3 for 20 to help limit India to 209 for 9.There wasn’t as much swing for India’s new ball bowlers but that did not prevent Sandeep Sharma and Kamal Passi from bowling tight lines and lengths. New Zealand did not lose early wickets, though, with Joe Carter doing most of the scoring. Michael Davidson took 16 balls to get off the mark.After losing Davidson with the score on 29, New Zealand progressed to 53 for 1 when they lost three wickets in three overs and slipped to 63 for 4. They were always behind the chase after that. Harmeet Singh took two of those wickets with flighted deliveries that spun away from the right-hander. Horne closed the face and got the leading edge to point, and Young edged to slip. Between those dismissals, Ravikant Singh dismissed the well-set Carter for 30.Harmeet and Aparajith slowed New Zealand down tremendously: Harmeet bowling slower and turning the ball, while Aparajith was flatter and more economical. Between them they took 3 for 59 in 20 overs.There was a whiteboard in the New Zealand dug out that had the comparative scores for India and them for every five-over block. Harmeet and Aparajith bowled consecutive maidens and after the 35th, New Zealand were 115 for 4, needing 95 off 90 balls. India had been 136 for 2.Though India did not finish as strongly as they would have liked when they batted, their bowlers ensured New Zealand were simply unable to accelerate. Their challenge ended when Sandeep bowled Cam Fletcher, who had batted solidly once again for 53, in the 48th over.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad

The Preview by S Rajesh22-Aug-2012

Match facts

Thursday, August 23
Start time 0930 (0400 GMT)Cheteshwar Pujara is in contention for a place in the Indian middle order•WICB

Big picture

India are without Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman; New Zealand are without Daniel Vettori. The last time an India-New Zealand Test was played without any of these three players was in November 1995, in Cuttack. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, none of those – from either team – who played in that Test are playing international cricket today.
Neither team has had a happy time in Test cricket over the last year. Both India and New Zealand are in a state of flux, which makes this series more meaningful than might have been otherwise. (Between them, the two teams have lost seven of their last ten Tests.) For India’s young batsmen, it’s a wonderful opportunity to stake a permanent place in the middle order, instead of only being seen as replacements when the top stars are unavailable. Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and S Badrinath will be fighting for two spots, but this series will probably be the easier part of the challenge, given that England and Australia will tour next, followed by a series in South Africa in 2013.Meanwhile, the Indian bowling attack is searching for answers too, after poor performances in Australia and England. Ishant Sharma hasn’t proved his fitness after his ankle surgery, while R Ashwin needs to show he can exercise control over long spells in conditions conducive for batting. Good performances by these players won’t guarantee long-term selection, but failures in this series will seriously hurt their chances, given that stiffer challenges will follow.New Zealand are coming off a demoralising defeat in the West Indies, and this series will be the first assignment for their new coach, Mike Hesson, who has taken over from John Wright. Several aspects of their game were disappointing in the West Indies, which means Hesson and the rest of the team management have a huge task ahead of them. The batting has been consistently patchy, with even senior players not contributing often enough.The bowling attack, apart from Chris Martin, is inexperienced. Experts have suggested that Vettori’s absence might not mean much since he hadn’t taken too many wickets recently, but he would have offered New Zealand much greater control in stemming the runs against batsmen who’re used to scoring quickly in familiar conditions. These will be tough conditions, and tough batsmen to bowl against for the inexperienced Jeetan Patel and Tarun Nethula, which suggests the seamers will have take greater bowling responsibilities this time around.

Form guide

India LLLLD (Most recent first)
New Zealand LLDLD

Watch out for

Brendon McCullum returns to the ground – and the batting position – where he notched up his highest Test score of 225. Consistency hasn’t been his greatest virtue, but opening the batting will give him a better chance to get his eye in against the quick bowlers, before the spinners come on to bowl, especially in the subcontinent. Compared to his overall average of 36.36, McCullum averages 45.13 when he opens the batting. If he gets a start, the Hyderabad crowd could be in for some entertainment.Cheteshwar Pujara last played a Test match in January 2011, in Cape Town, before a knee injury sidelined him for much of the year. Since his return, he has shown form and hunger, topping the run-charts for the A team in the West Indies earlier this year. He is treating this as his second debut in Test cricket, and with places up for grabs in this Indian middle order, Pujara will want to make sure he doesn’t miss out.

Pitch and conditions

Chris Martin said on the eve of the Test that the conditions in the nets were pretty good for seam bowling – the pitches had reasonable carry and the ball swung a bit in humid conditions. If that’s the case in the Test as well, the seamers could play a prominent role, especially in the early part of the Test. However, Dhoni was confident the pitch would take turn, and also suggested there’d be some bounce available to the spinners because of the red soil. Given New Zealand’s historical problems against spin, India will look to their spinner(s) to do a fair amount of damage.

Team news

With Laxman and Dravid not around, India’s middle order will have a new look, with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara certain to play. The choice for the No.6 slot will be between Suresh Raina and S Badrinath, but given that Raina was the original choice in the squad, he should probably make the cut ahead of Badrinath; besides, Raina’s off-spin will also be useful in Indian conditions. India will also have to decide between a bowling combination of three fast bowlers and a spinner, or a two-and-two combination. Given that the opposition is New Zealand, MS Dhoni might be tempted to go in with two specialist spinners.
India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Cheteshwar Pujara, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma/ Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav.New Zealand have announced that McCullum will open the batting, which means they’ll have to change their opening combination. Daniel Flynn has opened in two of their last three Tests, but could drop down to No.3 or No.5. Ross Taylor has confirmed that James Franklin will play, batting at No.6 and offering a fourth-seamer option. It’s unlikely they’ll play more than one specialist spinner, and Patel, the offspinner, will probably be preferred over the uncapped legspinner, Nethula. Whichever one plays, he’ll have a tough job trying to replicate the control that Vettori would have achieved had he been in the team.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 James Franklin, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Jeetan Patel/ Tarun Nethula, 11 Chris Martin.

Stats and trivia

• Fifty percent of the Tests between India and New Zealand have been drawn (25 out of 50). Only India versus Pakistan has a higher draw percentage (38 out of 59).
• McCullum is one of only two overseas batsmen to score a second-innings double-century in India. Andy Flower is the other.
• In the last 16 years, only once have both Dravid and Laxman not been part of an Indian team. That was against South Africa in Nagpur in 2010, a match India lost by an innings and 6 runs.
• Sachin Tendulkar has remarkably similar stats against New Zealand both home and away. In 11 home Tests against them, he averages 49.28; in as many Tests in New Zealand, he averages 49.52.

For more stats, click here.

Quotes

“We have Virat, Raina and we already have Sehwag there, he will most likely stand in the first slip. I don’t think we will be short of fielders who field at slips.”
“It [the pitch] had reasonable carry, enough bounce for us to challenge the edge. And it has been humid. The ball has swung [in the nets], and I think it is a better one than the ball we used in the West Indies that tended to not swing for very long.”

Nagenahira Nagas captain Angelo Mathews believed his side had a winning total in the SLPL final which they could have defended had weather not intervened to cut the second innings short

Andrew Fernando in Colombo01-Sep-2012Angelo Mathews, the Nagenahira Nagas captain, believed his side had a winning total in the SLPL final which they could have defended had weather not intervened to cut the second innings short, and make Uva Next champions via the Duckworth/Lewis method. Mathews’ dazzling 73 from 27 balls took Nagenahira to 134 for 4 from their 15 overs after his side had spluttered to 47 for 3 from 9 overs, following a first rain delay that shortened the game. Uva then hurtled to 63 for 1 from 5.1 overs, before a second heavy downpour stopped play and the D/L calculation deemed them victors by 19 runs.”Getting to [134] after losing a few wickets early on and being 40-odd after nine overs, it was a great effort by the whole batting unit,” Mathews said. “In the remaining six overs, we got the maximum number of runs you could hope for. The wicket was pretty slow, so [134] was a very good score, but unfortunately the rain gods had their say and that was that.”Uva opener Dilshan Munaweera blasted 44 from 23 balls to propel his side beyond the D/L par score. He struck five sixes and two fours in his innings, and with a promoted Seekkuge Prasanna also contributing two sixes, Uva hit a six in each over they faced.”The way Uva batted when they came out, they had nothing to lose, so they went for their shots and batted well.”The match may not have been completed had the two captains not agreed to continue playing on a sodden outfield. Three days of heavy rain had left parts of the ground muddy and the downpour that interrupted Nagenahira’s innings made those areas more slippery. Uva captain Thilina Kandamby commended Mathews on his willingness to play on, but Mathews said it was not a difficult decision to make, given they were playing in front of around 30,000 fans – by far the biggest crowd of the tournament.”I thought it [outfield] was pretty good apart from the boundary line. We couldn’t disappoint the crowds as well because it was a huge turnout today. After all it became and exciting game.”

Mathews also said despite the poor result in the final, he was proud of his side’s performance in the SLPL, particularly as they did not have the star players other teams had secured in the draft.”We never had big names, it’s just that we gelled quite well and we enjoyed each other’s company and success. I thought the team spirit was wonderful. Each time we walked into a game we just wanted to win and the whole unit was unbelievable.”

Yorkshire have continued to add to their bowling resources following their Championship promotion with the signing of Liam Plunkett from Durham

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2012Yorkshire have continued to add to their bowling resources following their Championship promotion with the signing of Liam Plunkett from Durham.Plunkett, 27, only played one Championship match during the 2012 season as he suffered an Achilles injury and that followed a lean 2011 campaign which brought 11 wickets at 38.90.”I have had 12 very happy years at the club and wish to thank the supporters, staff and my playing colleagues for the support they have shown me over that time,” he said. “At this stage of my career, I believe that a fresh challenge would benefit me and I feel this is required to help me reach my goal of representing my country again.”Plunkett has played nine Tests, 29 one-day internationals and one Twenty20 for England. His most recent appearance came in Perth in February 2011 after he had flown around the world from the Caribbean where he was on a Lions tour to join an injury-hit squad for a single match. His last Test was against West Indies, at Old Trafford, in 2007.”I have been fortunate enough to represent my country as recently as last year and there is no doubt I want to pull on an England shirt again,” he said. “I strongly believe I have what it takes to play at the highest level again and I feel Yorkshire is the best environment to help me achieve this.”Plunkett’s move also sees him reunited with Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, who was the Durham coach when Plunkett made his county debut”I know Liam well from my time in Durham,” Moxon said. “He is a wholehearted cricketer with considerable talent and brings experience and quality to the Yorkshire side as we head back to the Division One. He has what it takes to regain a place in the England side. He is still only 27 and I’m sure Yorkshire can further assist his development and help him achieve his ambitions within the game. I look forward to working with him again.”Plunkett is the second significant pace-bowling signing Yorkshire have made since the end of the season following Jack Brooks’ move from Northamptonshire.

Sachin Tendulkar has said his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, when he was still a teenager, toughened him up as a cricketer, and helped prepare him to face world-class attacks

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2012Sachin Tendulkar has said his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, when he was still a teenager, toughened him up as a cricketer, and helped prepare him to face world-class attacks. He was speaking at a ceremony in Mumbai where he became the first Indian sportsman to be honoured with membership of the Order of Australia.”It (the 1991-92 tour of Australia) completely changed me as a cricketer. It was a critical moment of my career. Three and half months changed me completely,” Tendulkar said. “I thought I was ready to play against any attack in the world and I can say that Australia has had some contribution in that to transform me into a tougher cricketer.”India lost the Test series 4-0, but Tendulkar was India’s highest run-getter with 368 runs, including one of his most celebrated centuries, in Perth. “We all know Australians are fierce competitors but when you do well against them, they shower on you all the compliments. And that is what happened to me. I scored reasonably well and scored a couple of hundreds there (in the Test series).”Tendulkar said he had dreamt of playing in Australia even before entering his teens. “The association with Australia started long time ago and not in 1991,” he said. “To me it started way back in 1985 when I was 12 years old watching those fantastic day-night matches on television. I started dreaming that one day I want to go there and play cricket. It turned into a reality in 1991-92.”The other non-Australian cricketers to have received the Order of Australia honour are West Indian greats Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Brian Lara. Tendulkar was recognised “for his service to Australia-India relations by promoting goodwill, friendship and sportsmanship through the sport of cricket.”Australia’s arts minister Simon Crean conferred the award to the cricketer. “Mr Tendulkar, as a member and former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team, has made an outstanding contribution to international cricket for more than 20 years,” a statement from the Australian consulate-general read.

A round of matches in the Faysal Bank T-20

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2012
ScorecardHaris Sohail scored a brisk half-century to give Sialkot Stallions a target their bowlers defended comfortably against Abbottabad Falcons. The 34-run win was Sialkot’s fourth success in five matches and they were second in Group A.Sialkot’s top order had stumbled – they were 69 for 3 in the 11th over – before Sohail made an unbeaten 62 off 43 balls to lead his team to 164. Sohail had a 79-run stand for the fourth wicket with his captain Shoaib Malik. Fast bowler Junaid Khan was Abbottabad’s best bowler, with figures of 3 for 22.Abbottabad overcame the early loss of Mir Azam to reach 79 for 1 in the 13th over but they failed to accelerate from that platform. They lost four wickets for 14 runs to slip to 110 for 6 and eventually ended on 130.
ScorecardMultan Tigers rose to the third spot in Group A with a 17-run win against Karachi Zebras in Lahore. Put in to bat, Multan lost opener Sohaib Maqsood in the second over, but made steady progress for the next seven overs as Zain Abbas and Gulraiz Sadaf scored 48 together. But Karachi’s Faraz Ahmed and Haaris Ayas picked up two wickets apiece to reduce Multan to 87 for 5 in the 15th over. It was then that Saeed Anwar Jr launched a counterattack, hitting 39 off 22 and sharing a 52-run stand with Kashif Naved to help the team finish on a high.Multan carried the momentum into their bowling, with Mohammad Irfan striking off the first ball of the innings. Two more wickets went down in the next two overs, pushing Karachi onto the back foot. Rahat Ali and Anwar Jr shared seven wickets between them to derail the chase and help Multan win comfortably in the end.
ScorecardBahawalpur Stags maintained their winning run with an 11-run win against Hyderabad Hawks, who are yet to register a victory. Bahawalpur were set back early after choosing to bat, but healthy contributions of 40, 34 and 37 from Ali Haider, Usman Tariq and Bilal Khilji ensured the team crossed the 150-run mark. Haider was the most aggressive – his 40 came off 26 balls with five fours and a six.In their chase, Hyderabad had made brisk progress to 44 when Ataullah struck in the sixth over to remove Sharjeel Khan. Other Bahawalpur bowlers soon joined in; they kept the scoring under tight control and picked up the wickets as the pressure got to the batsmen. Twenty-eight were required off the last two overs, but Kamran Hussain and Mohammad Talha both picked up two wickets each in the last two overs to seal the win.
ScorecardFaisalabad Wolves kept their unbeaten record intact with a narrow two-wicket win against Karachi Dolphins at the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore. Chasing 148, Faisalabad were in danger of running out of batsmen when 19 were required off 16 balls and only two wickets were left. But Misbah-ul-Haq remained unbeaten on 72 and scored 17 out of 19 in the ninth-wicket partnership to help Faisalabad cross the line off the last delivery.Misbah took only 47 balls to score his runs and hit four boundaries and three sixes in the innings. He didn’t receive much support at the other end, 17 being the second highest score.Earlier, Karachi were cruising on 85 for 1 in the 12th over after a half-century stand between Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif. However, both batsmen were out in the space of three balls off Ehsan Adil’s bowling and that slowed down the charge. Adil picked up four wickets as Karachi were restricted to 147.
ScorecardA big-hitting century partnership between the Rawalpindi Rams openers helped their team to overhaul Lahore Eagles’ total with ease – they won by eight wickets with more than five overs to spare. Naved Malik and Awais Zia hit 11 sixes between them and put up 135 runs in 12.1 overs to make short work of the 156-run target. Malik scored 77 off 41 balls and Zia, 54 off 36, but both fell with the target in sight.Lahore Eagles had chosen to bat and with the help of contributions from everyone in the batting order, had scored 155. Yasir Arafat was the most successful bowler for Rawalpindi with 3 for 37.
ScorecardIn a clash that pitted the bottom-rung Group A teams against each other, Islamabad Leopards beat Quetta Bears by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium. This was Islamabad’s first win in five matches, while Quetta remained winless after the same number of games.Islamabad chose to bowl, and the decision paid off straightaway as seamer Iftikhar Anjum struck in each of his first three overs to leave Quetta reeling at 17 for 3 in the sixth. Apart from getting the wickets, Iftikhar kept a tight leash on the scoring, having conceding only 2.75 runs per over by the end of his spell. The other bowlers too kept things tight for the most part, and struck with regularity to restrict Quetta to 111 for 7.The chase was off to a poor start too, as Islamabad lost opener Shan Masood for a golden duck and No. 3 Moed Ahmed for 1, but the rest of the top and middle order produced cameos and that was enough to propel their team past their meagre target with nine balls to spare.

Australia’s Test team convened without Ricky Ponting in Hobart on Monday evening

Daniel Brettig10-Dec-2012Australia’s Test team convened without Ricky Ponting in Hobart on Monday evening. Barring reasons of injury or personal leave, this is the first time such a state of affairs has existed since 1999.The space left by Ponting will be felt as much in the dressing room as out in the middle, for while his run-making trailed off badly towards the end, his contribution to the team’s development as a mentor and example was seldom stronger.Phillip Hughes occupies Ponting’s place on the team sheet, but all will be expected to take up the considerable hole left by his presence. Apart from the captain Michael Clarke, the most senior members of the squad to play at Bellerive are Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson.Their insights and examples will be critical to younger team-mates, and so too will the personal experience of Ed Cowan. Having benefited greatly from the time he spent around Ponting both before and after his elevation to the national team, Cowan will now be expected to show that example.”It’s an odd situation in that one of the guys that has been inked into the top order, but more so inked into the culture of the change room, will be missing,” Cowan told ESPNcricinfo. “So there are two ways to look at it. One is to reminisce and think what a hole he’s going to leave. The other side of the coin is that it’s an opportunity for guys to step up, not only as players but as leaders around the change room, and that’s an opportunity for a number of guys to combine together and try to fill the void of his presence.”I think cultures evolve, and the culture of this team has evolved since Michael’s taken the captaincy, so it’s a question of guys being willing like Ricky was to give of themselves to the team like no other. Put the team first, play to win, and make sure the change rooms are a better place when the next person steps into it. A massive loss off the field, but the identity of this team has been growing since Michael took over the captaincy, and that growth’s been pretty evident in the results.”That those results did not culminate in a series victory over South Africa was down to a major malfunction at Nos. 3 and 4 in the batting order – of which Ponting was of course a part – the toll of three Tests on the hosts’ bowlers, and the resilience of the seasoned visitors. Cowan enjoyed a productive series personally, making his first Test century and looking comfortable at other times, but the most resounding lessons of the series were of the five-day game’s unremitting nature.”From a team point of view it was a great lesson that Test series are exactly that,” Cowan said. “It’s not one or two days of really decent cricket, to beat the best you have to be consistent for 15 days. As a group we felt as though we dominated them for eight or nine days of the series, maybe had points decisions on two or three days and only lost two or three days to them, and you end up losing the series. So it was a great lesson for us that the great teams soak up pressure when they have to and have an ability to really nail you when they have that momentum.”They were due to have a good day. That was in the back of everyone’s mind that they’d been pounded and pounded and pounded and yet it showed 0-0, and it took a toll on our bowlers a bit more with both quicks sitting out [Perth]. So we were up against it when our top three quicks were all unavailable for what was a grand final, so it was always going to be hard work. We had our opportunity after day one with the bat to really nail them and we didn’t take it, then with the ball we let things slip, and in a matter of hours the series was prettymuch gone.”Having said that, deep down we knew we gave it a massive shake. The best team in the world had come here with the intention of proving how good they were, and we flexed a few muscles and showed how good we were over the course of the series, but didn’t come away with the biscuits.”Ponting’s retirement and its associated melancholy appeared to add a mental toll to the physical strain evident after the sapping conclusion to the Adelaide Test. Cowan said the start of a new series would allow the start of a new and fresh chapter, without anything like the pathos that enveloped Australia at the WACA ground – there will certainly be fewer tears shed this week, both in private and in public.”It was tough mentally, and physically because it was a back-to-back Test,” Cowan said. “Now we’ve had a chance to refresh, take stock and move forward. Phil Hughes is coming into the side off a lot of runs and we’re pretty confident that everyone can contribute to the team moving forward. We’re now missing Australia’s greatest modern batsmen, but it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. It puts expectation on other guys to fill the void. That’s the only way.”